Business Failure Rates Soar to COVID Levels, Food and Beverage Worst Hit

Business failures have hit a post-pandemic peak, matching the rate measured in October 2020, with food and beverage the worst affected.

An empty restaurant in the normally busy Elizabeth Quay area in Perth, Australia, on Jan. 31, 2021. Trevor Collens/AFP via Getty Images

Australian businesses are failing at a rate not seen since the height of the pandemic lockdowns in October 2020. All sectors are affected, but food and beverage services are worst hit, according to the October Business Risk Index (BRI) from CreditorWatch.

Annualised insolvency rates have more than doubled over the last 18 months, exceeding pre-COVID levels by about 25 percent.